


And Then There Was One

by TheFoolsKnightober (TheFoolsKnight)



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: The Eldest Curses Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Character Death, Gen, M/M, Prince Alec Lightwood, Sieges, Warlock Magnus Bane, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsKnight/pseuds/TheFoolsKnightober
Summary: Whumptober Day 5 - On the runWhen enemies attack the palace in the middle of the night, Alec is forced to flee, but not before he witnesses the death of his family. With nowhere to go, he keeps running - until he stumbles upon a warlock in the woods
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Max Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947043
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	And Then There Was One

Dry leaves crunched under Alec’s feet as he ran for his life.

He had no idea how long he had been running. He was vaguely aware of days turning to nights and back to days. So far all his time was spent on running, hiding and scavenging.

Alec cursed when an arrow whizzed past him, and looked over his shoulder to find a few of Sebastian’s soldier’s chasing after him. He turned his gaze back on his path, running faster and dodging the occasional arrow that came his way. Behind him, he could hear their shouts and cries for blood,  _ his  _ blood. Alec stumbled when an arrow sank into his calf, but ran on, paying little heed to the sharp pain that lanced up his leg with every step he took.

Cold metal sank into the skin of Alec’s back, cutting through cloth and muscle, and he screamed. His legs gave out, and Alec fell to the ground. Twigs crackled, scratching against his bare palms, and the taste of iron was abundant in his mouth.

Alec turned, and just caught a glimpse of one of the men standing above him, his sword poised for a final stroke and a wicked grin on his face. Alec closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to come.

_ Mother, father, I’m so sorry… _

Instead, a few screams sounded, followed by the thunder of footsteps against the forest floor. Alec cracked an eye open, and saw the men run away, abandoning their blades on the ground. One of the men was lying on the ground, blood pooling around him, a few blue sparks dancing around his limp body.

“Are you alright?” came a voice from behind. Alec sat up and spun as much as his injuries allowed him to, and saw a man standing a few feet away from him.

His tall, slim stature was covered up entirely by a hooded cloak. Alec could see the shadows of his face under the hood, and his hands which stuck out of the billowing sleeves were crackling with blue fire.

Something must’ve shown on Alec’s face, because the man waved his hands, putting out the fire, and stepped closer. He held out his hands, and now that they were free of fire, Alec could see that his skin was a rich brown, like the gleam of a freshly forged bronze sword. “It’s okay. I won’t harm you.”

Alec exhaled, suddenly feeling dizzy. He was dimly aware of blood trickling out of his wound, damping his ragged and torn clothes. He jerked, almost falling to the ground again, but the man swooped in and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him upright.

From beneath the hood, Alec caught a glimpse of glimmering golden-green eyes. Something about his gaze made Alec relax, leaning into the man.

“They’re gone,” he whispered. Now that his life was no longer in danger, his grief was beginning to catch up to him. “They’re all gone.”

He closed his eyes.

_ Nighttime. Insistent screams in the air. Distant sounds of fighting. _

_ He woke up, and found one of them standing over him. Even half-asleep, it was easy to bring him down. He was the heir. He had to know how to fight. _

_ He ran with Isabelle, Jace and Max in tow, towards his parents’ chambers. There were simply too many of them. They had to run. _

_ Isabelle pushed open the doors, and screamed. _

_ Blood. There was blood everywhere. _

_ They silently ran through the tunnels, Max muffling his silent sobs into Isabelle’s shoulders. Jace was at the front, and Alec brought up the rear. His heart was beating fast in his chest. They needed to hurry, before someone found them. _

_ They burst out of the tunnel, straight into an enemy camp. _

_ Alec’s hand tightened on his sword. He swooped in front of Isabelle, swinging his blade at the oncoming men. _

_ But there were simply too many of them. Three warriors against a dozen. It had never been fair. _

_ By the time they cleared out a path, Isabelle was gone. _

_ They had managed to find two horses, and rode as fast as they could, with Max balanced on one horse with Alec and Jace on another. Alec heard the whizz of an arrow, and a thump. Jace’s horse neighed loudly, and Alec spun, dread catching onto his heart like a vice. _

_ “Jace!” Alec yelled when he saw him lying on the ground, his horse fallen with him, an arrow in his back. He wanted to stop, but Jace waved him away. _

_ “Go!” he yelled as the soldiers approached, brandishing their swords. “Go and keep Max safe!” _

_ With great reluctance, Alec turned the horse, speeding away, with his little brother sobbing into his chest. He wanted to stop. He wanted to fight and go down, too. But he had to protect Max. _

_ Alec had stepped away from the horse for a single moment, to fetch water from the stream nearby. When they’d stopped, there wasn’t anyone nearby. _

_ But when Alec came back, it was to find the horse lying limp on the ground, its white fur stained with red blood. Max’s blood. _

_ Alec dropped the flask of water when he saw his brother, lying next to the horse, his glassy eyes turned up to the sky. _

_ “Max!” he screamed, but before he could say anything, the men burst out from between the trees, their blades gleaming in the scarce sunlight that crept in through the thick canopy. _

_ Alec spun and ran. He was utterly helpless now. All he could do was run. _

Alec’s eyes snapped open. Above him was a thatched roof, and below was a surprisingly comfortable bed. He belatedly realised that all his clothes were gone but for his innerwear, and that his torso was wrapped up in bandages, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He wanted to just lie there forever. He didn’t want to go back to a world where his family didn’t exist anymore.

“You’re awake.”

Alec’s eyes flickered to the man - a warlock, he realised - who stood over him, one hand hovering over Alec’s bandages. He turned to Alec and said,

“I’ve healed your injuries, but you lost plenty of blood. You need to rest.”

Alec jerked to full awareness now, and shook his head. “I- I can’t. I can’t rest.”

His voice came out croakier than he’d like, but Alec held his ground by giving the man a firm stare.

The man raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”

“I have to go back.” Alec made an attempt to sit up, but his arms gave out and he fell back into the bed with a huff.

“See, you’re still too weak,” the man said. “You  _ need  _ to rest.”

Alec shook his head. “I’m not weak. I  _ can’t  _ be weak. I need to- I need to go back. I need to fight.”

The man placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “You’ll die if you go to fight someone like this.”

“They killed everyone,” Alec choked out, and felt a shameful weight behind his eyes. He turned his face away so that the man would not see the tears threatening to spill. “My mother, my father… my brothers and sister. I need to go back. I need to win my kingdom back. It’s the least I can do.  _ Please.” _

Alec felt nimble fingers close over his chin, turning his face towards the man. He cupped Alec’s cheek, swiping his thumb over Alec’s cheek and catching a tear.

“There’s nothing wrong with being weak,” he said. “If you want to win your kingdom back, you  _ have  _ to rest now. Trust me.”

“But-“ Alec began to protest, and was interrupted by the man pressing a finger to his lips. 

“Let me help you,” he said. “I’ll help you recover, and then, if need be, I’ll help you win back your kingdom.”

“Why?” Alec asked. “Why would you help me?”

The man smiled. “You’ll win back your kingdom, and I’ll have a friend by the time we’re done.”

Alec frowned. He had no idea how the two of them could end up as friends, but he decided to give this man the benefit of doubt. “As you wish.”

“Good!” he smiled, and the smile was so bright it was almost blinding. Normally, Alec would’ve been prompted to smile back, but now all he felt was a hollow empty ache inside. “Before I forget to ask, what’s your name, you stubborn Prince?”

“Alexander,” Alec said, and his voice felt extremely rough. “But you can call me Alec.”

The man’s smile brightened. “And you,” he said, reaching out a hand and tucking away a few stray strands of Alec’s hair. “Can call me Magnus.”


End file.
